By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
February 13 – World anti-doping authorities believe football should do more to combat the drug cheats even though the sport has no record of flagrant performance-enhancing abuse.
Earlier this week, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger (pictured) called for blood tests to be brought in to supplement urine testing.
He has now been supported by John Fahey, president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, who has suggested football could employ testing for the red blood cell-boosting drug EPO, prevalent in cycling and other sports, and step up the use of athlete biological passports to monitor the blood profiles of players, the latest tool in the fight against the cheats.
“I simply say this about football – they are not testing enough for EPO. They can do more and we encourage them to do more,” Fahey told a conference in London.
Fahey’s comments came two days before WADA chiefs are due to meet FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who tweeted: “Followed some key comments from @wada-ama media symposium today. Look forward to meeting WADA delegation in Zurich on Thursday.”
Wada director general David Howman also backed greater scrutiny among footballers. “If you asked whether every team in the Premier League had been tested four times in a year, I think you know what the answer would be,” he was quoted as saying in a briefing to reporters at the same London conference. “Team sports players can go their entire career without being tested. There’s a programme that should be taken up by all team sports.”
Backing Wenger’s call for possible blood testing, Howman added: “I would support it. UEFA [is] ready to do it, but it poses some ethical problems because everyone has to accept that [it] will check the blood and not everybody is ready to do that.”
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